The Football Association of Ireland is considering its position on possible
further action after Fifa rejected calls for a replay of Wednesday’s World
Cup play-off against France.

End of the matter: Republic of Ireland will not get a replay against FrancePhoto: AFP

By Mark Ogden

10:30AM GMT 20 Nov 2009

Thierry Henry’s ‘Hand of God’ contribution to William Gallas’s decisive extra-time goal prompted the FAI to write to both Fifa and the French Football Federation (FFF) on Thursday demanding a replay for the sake of ‘the integrity of the game.’

But despite the Irish citing Fifa’s decision to order a replay of Uzbekistan versus Bahrain in Sept 2005 following a ‘technical error’ by the referee, the world governing body has ruled out a replay of the France clash.

A Fifa statement said: “Fifa has today, 20 November 2009, replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to replay the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa play-off match held on 18 November 2009 between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris.

“In the reply, Fifa states that the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed.

“As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.”

The FAI are now understood to be considering the possibility of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following Fifa’s announcement.

However, with the draw for the World Cup due to take place in Cape Town on Dec 4, the likelihood of a successful appeal and subsequent staging of a rematch within the next two weeks appears highly unlikely.

The call for a replay had led to senior officials from both the Irish and French governments becoming involved in the row.

Irish PM Brian Cowen has spoken to French president Nicolas Sarkozy about the matter, while Christine Lagarde, the French Economy Minister, has admitted that a replay should be sanctioned following any evidence of cheating.

Lagarde said: "I am obviously very happy that the team is in the World Cup but I think it's very sad to have qualified on this, well, on this cheating.

"And I think that Fifa would do well to look at the rules because I think it would be good, in such circumstances, to decide maybe to replay the match.

"Firstly, we should respect the referee, secondly, we respect the rules, but if the rules are bad, they have to be challenged.”